Audi A4 Engine Brain Box, Electronic Control Module; Vin E (8th Digit), 2002 on 2040-parts.com

Crunch watch Sept 09: the auto industry in crisis

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 30 September 2009 11:30 Welcome to CAR's news aggregator as we round up the seismic change in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hour  Wednesday 30 September 2009• Mitsubishi's global production in August was 62,924 units, a decline of 32.1% compared to August 2008. It was also the 18th consecutive monthly decrease for the Japanese car company (Mitsubishi)• Fernando Alonso has signed a three-year deal to drive for the Scuderia Ferrari F1 team.

Last call for entries: IM Design Awards

As the deadline for entries to the 2010 Interior Motives Design Awards approaches – all designs must be received by 10 July – details of the judging panel and the upcoming awards ceremony in Paris are firming up. Judging the hundreds of student designs this year will be a panel of industry experts that includes such influential figures as Amko Leenarts, Interior Design Director, Peugeot; Robin Page, Interior Design Director, Bentley; Wolfgang Müller-Pietralla, Leader VW Future Research; Michael Robinson, Design Director, Stile Bertone; Andreas Stump, Head of Advanced Interior Design, Citroën; Romulus Rost, Chief Interior Designer, Volkswagen Advanced Design, Potsdam; and Euan Sey, Editor of Interior Motives magazine. The competition is open to students enrolled at any accredited undergraduate or graduate design degree programme, both in automotive and non-automotive disciplines – those studying fashion design, industrial design, architecture and other similar fields are also eligible.

The cars were stars at the Television/Motion Picture Car Club's first show

When we first heard about this show, we figured it would be all famous cars from famous movies: the real Bullitt Mustang, the real Herbie, the real pod racer from Star Wars. While there were some actual movie cars at the first show of the newly minted Television/Motion Picture Car Club--including the Charger from Fast & Furious and a real Dukes of Hazzard General Lee--the majority of the wheels were tribute cars made by fans who happened to work in the movie industry. The only Star Wars car was a converted Honda Civic Del Sol with a stuffed green Yoda riding shotgun.